“There are three things Cubans can’t hide: coffee, money and jazz.” That was just a sample of the wise sayings that Paquito D’Rivera had to bestow on the audience during this night of musical education via lecture and sounds. A…
Category: Concert Reviews
Chick Corea’s Elektric Band@Catalina’s 08.17.16
“Welcome to our first rehearsal!” So joked Chick Corea as he brought his all star Elektric Band to LA for only the second time. The week long gig is in celebration of the leader’s 75th birthday, and there was enough…
Quincy Jones Presents Alfredo Rodriguez@The Edye 08.12.16
As Quincy Jones stated before the concert, “Jazz got on the wrong track for awhile, but with Alfredo Rodriguez we’re taking it back to where it belongs.” If anyone knows how to make music connect with people, it’s the guy…
Jeff Beck@Chumash Casino 08.11.16
Jeff Beck is a wise man. At the Chumash Casino Thursday night, the 72 year old is following the best advice in keeping his mind, body and soul in shape. First, he’s slim and trim which keeps him flexible. In…
David Benoit@Scherr Theatre 08.04.16
Call it contemporary jazz, call it “smooth” call it “fusion,” but whatever you want to label it, David Benoit performed it, and performed it wonderfully during a solo piano concert at the acoustically adroit Scherr Theatre in Thousand Oaks. Jokingly…
Gordon Goodwin’s Little Phat Band@Catalina’s 08.04.16
It looks like Gordon Goodwin and his Band have been on either the Paleo or Whole 30 diet. The leader looks slim and trim, and his band has lost some weight as well, thinning down to a svelt “Little Phat…
HAPPENINGS 50 YEARS TIME AGO…The Yardbirds@The Canyon Club 07.21.16
With the last remaining original member Jim McCarty still at the helm behind the drums, the legendary Yardbirds celebrated the 50 year anniversary of one of rock music’s most exciting albums, Roger the Engineer. Recorded in just 7 hours, the…
Roy Hargrove’s Quintet@ Catalina’s 07.14.16
It was a mysterious night at Catalina’s for Roy Hargrove’s first set of his weekend long run. Once perennially one of jazz’s top 2 or 3 trumpeters, Hargrove hasn’t released a new album for over 6 years. This evening, he…
Gian-Carla Tisera@Boston Court 07.09.16
A couple of years ago, Bolivian vocalist Gian-Carla Tisera released her debut album Nora La Bella that impressed me so much that I actually wrote in the review “When is she coming to LA?”. Well, she finally arrived here, and…
Marquis Hill CD Release Concert@The Blue Whale 07.08.16
Trumpeter Marquis Hill give ample justification for being selected as the winner of the 2014 Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition as he presented music from his latest album The Way We Play in front of a packed crowd at the…